GB News

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GB News
CountryUnited Kingdom
Broadcast areaUnited Kingdom
HeadquartersLondon, England, UK
Programming
Language(s)English
Ownership
OwnerAll Perspectives Ltd.
Key peopleAndrew Neil (Chairman)
Angelos Frangopoulos (CEO)
History
Launched2021
FounderAndrew Cole
Mark Schneider

GB News is a forthcoming British television news channel due to launch early in 2021 on Freeview, Sky, YouView, Freesat and Virgin Media.[1] The channel will not provide rolling news, but instead will be a mix of news, opinion and debate.[2]

Foundation

All Perspectives Ltd. was founded as the holding company of GB News in September 2019, and was granted a licence to broadcast by Ofcom in January 2020.[3][4]

On 25 September 2020 it was announced that Andrew Neil, who had presented live political programmes on the BBC for 25 years,[5] would leave the corporation after leading their coverage of the 2020 United States presidential election. He said that he had been in discussions to continue working on the BBC in a new format after the cancellation of his programme The Andrew Neil Show, but that these talks had "not come to fruition" and he had accepted the post of chairman of a new television news channel.[6] On the same day he was announced as the presenter of a prime time evening programme on the channel, due to launch early the next year. In a statement, Neil said that the channel would "champion robust, balanced debate and a range of perspectives on the issues that affect everyone in the UK, not just those living in the London area", and GB News as addressing a perceived gap in the market for "the vast number of British people who feel underserved and unheard by their media".[7]

It was founded by Andrew Cole and Mark Schneider, two executives associated with the chairman of Liberty Global, John C. Malone.[4] Its chief executive officer (CEO) was announced as Angelos Frangopoulos, the former CEO of Sky News Australia.[8] Neil is also a non-executive director of the company.[9]

In December 2020, Sky News reported that Sir Paul Marshall, a prominent hedge fund manager, was in talks to invest £10 million into GB News.[10] On 6 January 2021, GB News reached its £60 million fundraising aim, which it said was oversubscribed. The majority of the £60 million came from Discovery, the investment firm Legatum[11] and Marshall, who said he was investing in personal capacity. GB News said it would recruit 140 staff, including 120 journalists, and would also launch "streaming, video-on-demand and audio services".[11]

The recruitment drive began on 25 January 2021.[12] On 28 January it was announced that Dan Wootton would leave News UK to join the channel as the host of a daily show, five days a week.[13] On 10 February Sky News' Colin Brazier was revealed as the host of a news, interview and debate daytime programme.[2] On 18 February it was announced that Darren McCaffrey would join the channel as political editor and Tom Harwood as a political correspondent.[2] The next day Michelle Dewberry was named as the host of a five-day-a-week prime time show.[14] In March, Inaya Folarin Iman, a 24-year-old journalist and Brexit Party candidate,[15] was announced as another five-day-a-week host.[16]

In March 2021, during an interview on BBC Radio 4's The Media Show Neil revealed that the channel's headquarters are in Paddington, London.[2][17]

Programming

Andrew Neil, GB News Chairman and presenter, was the face of the channel in the run up to its launch.

According to reports, the channel plans to air 6500 hours of "original news, opinion and debate" per year.[2][7] Neil has said that the channel would not provide rolling news, but would, in similarity with some US networks like MSNBC and Fox News, divide each day into "individual programmes, news-based programmes, built around very strong presenters".[18] He said that it would aim to offer programming that would become "an appointment to view".[19] CEO Angelos Frangopoulos added that it will be a "mix" of news coverage and opinion where it will be taking "a very different view on the regulatory environment" that is controlled by Ofcom.[20]

In a March 2021 episode of BBC Radio 4's The Media Show, Neil stated that his nightly news programme would contain segments such as "Wokewatch" and "Mediawatch".[17][21]

Political leaning

GB News has not explicitly indicated a political allegiance.[2] However, four of GB News' on-air staff have had links with the Reform UK political party (formerly Brexit Party) in the recent past, including Michelle Dewberry and Alexandra Phillips.[22][23] Some on-air staff have also had affiliations with other political parties, such as the UK Independence Party and the Conservative Party.[24]

Financier Sir Paul Marshall has previously donated significant sums of money to the campaign to leave the European Union[25] and Michael Gove's Conservative leadership campaign;[25] Marshall additionally used to donate to the Liberal Democrats, but stopped due to the party's stance on Brexit.[25]

The channel has been forecast by the Financial Times to be "right-leaning"[26] and by The Guardian and City A.M. to be similar to Fox News.[19][4] BBC Media Editor Amol Rajan noted that "it is not the first channel to be set up in Britain with a strong worldview... But GB News is the first to be set up with an explicit political leaning".[13] Rajan has also stated that "the validity of [the Fox News] comparison is limited".[13] GB News CEO Angelos Frangopoulos previously led Sky News Australia, which has a noted strong political bias, but has denied claims that GB News will be similar.[20] In addition, section five of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code requires broadcasters to show 'due impartiality'.[27]

Former BBC News executive Richard Sambrook has suggested that "politicised UK TV news could lead to the polarised coverage that many hold responsible for sowing and amplifying division in the US during the Trump presidency".[28] The Financial Times noted that the channel's branding indicated a "nationalistic agenda" and also drew a comparison between GB News' self-professed "impartial" nature and Fox News' much criticised[29] "fair and balanced" slogan.[30]

On-air staff

References

  1. ^ "Andrew Neil announces 24 hour GB News channel to rival BBC and Sky". ITV News. 25 September 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Tobitt, Charlotte (12 March 2021). "What is GB News? In-depth briefing about Andrew Neil's new channel". Press Gazette. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  3. ^ Forrest, Adam (31 August 2020). "GB News: Former No 10 official 'leading effort to launch BBC competitor'". The Independent. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Waterson, Jim (29 August 2020). "Rivals plan Fox News-style opinionated TV station in UK". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  5. ^ Neil, Andrew [@afneil] (25 September 2020). "I look back on my 25 years doing live political programmes for the BBC with affection" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ "Andrew Neil to leave the BBC 'with heavy heart'". BBC News. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Andrew Neil announces 24 hour GB News channel to rival BBC and Sky". ITV News. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  8. ^ Waterson, Jim (25 September 2020). "Andrew Neil launches 24-hour news channel to rival BBC and Sky". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  9. ^ "ALL PERSPECTIVES LTD - Officers (free information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk.
  10. ^ Kleinman, Mark (31 December 2020). "City tycoon Marshall tunes into £60m GB News fundraising". Sky News. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  11. ^ a b Kleinman, Mark (6 January 2021). "GB News seals £60m funding ahead of 'boldly different' launch". Sky News. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  12. ^ Tobitt, Charlotte (25 January 2021). "GB News launches recruitment drive for 140 jobs and declares commitment to 'impartial journalism'". Press Gazette. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  13. ^ a b c Rajan, Amol (28 January 2021). "Dan Wootton leaves News UK for GB News and Mail Online". BBC News. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  14. ^ Campbell, James (19 February 2021). "Michelle Dewberry to anchor prime time show on GB News channel". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  15. ^ "As a Brexit Party candidate I'm disappointed some are having to stand down". inews.co.uk. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  16. ^ Sherwin, Adam (2 March 2021). "GB News signs 'woke opponent' Inaya Folarin Iman as presenter". i. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Andrew Neil: a 50-year media career". BBC Radio 4: The Media Show. BBC. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  18. ^ Forrest, Adam (28 September 2020). "GB News: Andrew Neil says new channel will have US-style 'anchors with a bit of edge'". The Independent. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  19. ^ a b Wilson, Eliot (2 October 2020). "Andrew Neil's GB News will test whether there is appetite for a Fox News-style news channel in the UK". City AM. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  20. ^ a b Colson, Thomas. "The man behind Britain's anti-'woke' GB News channel explains how he plans to revolutionize TV news in the UK". Business Insider. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  21. ^ Elmes, John (11 March 2021). "Andrew Neil unwraps GB News flagship format". Broadcast. Retrieved 14 March 2021. (subscription required)
  22. ^ Stephenson, Barnabas (27 November 2019). "Michelle Dewberry Brexit pitch to Hull's frustrated voters". HullLive. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  23. ^ "Brexit Party MEP worked for Cambridge Analytica". Channel 4 News. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  24. ^ "Alexandra Phillips: Why I left UKIP and joined May's Conservative Party". Conservative Home. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  25. ^ a b c Hughes, Solomon (24 January 2018). "A Millionaire Who Funded Brexit Made a Killing as Carillion Crashed". Vice. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  26. ^ Barker, Alex (25 September 2020). "Andrew Neil to lead new right-leaning UK TV news channel". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  27. ^ "Section five: Due impartiality and due accuracy". Ofcom. 5 January 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  28. ^ Clarke, Steve (22 January 2021). "Will GB News Be the Great Disrupter of Balanced British News, or Great for Britain?". Variety. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  29. ^ Grynbaum, Michael M. (14 June 2017). "Fox News Drops 'Fair and Balanced' Motto". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  30. ^ Kelly, Jemima (3 September 2020). "A Fox News-style channel will be a hard sell in the UK". Financial Times. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  31. ^ GB News [@GBNEWS] (12 March 2021). "Award winning journalist, broadcaster and author @LiamHalligan is joining GB News" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  32. ^ GB News [@GBNEWS] (5 March 2021). "Our journalism team is growing! GB News welcomes Alex Phillips @ThatAlexWoman to our on-air team and @MitchellCMM as an executive producer" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=GB_News&oldid=1012147322"